Children aren't born with racism -- they learn it

When a film or TV show is hyped by the press, I usually view the plug
in a skeptical vein, as in "Someone has a good PR agent."

But when I read about a recent episode of a Warner Bros. network
sitcom, it actually elicited pondering.

On this episode of the sitcom, which features a black family, one of
the children decides he wants to play Buckwheat from the Little
Rascals for a Black History Month event at school. His parents
discourage him, telling him he should go as a more respected figure, like
Colin Powell or Louis Armstrong. The boy responds, "Buckwheat makes me
laugh. He's funny." Therein lies part of the rub: Should Black History
Month only cover positive, or politically correct figures in the black
community, past and present?

This assumes Buckwheat was a negative image. Yes, he had messed-up hair
and clothes and talked funny, e.g. "O-tay!" But the other Rascals weren't
wearing their Sunday duds all the time, either. And as far as talking,
remember Froggie, the Rascal with the raspy, barely understandable voice?
And heck, Porky almost never spoke, come to think of it.

Face it, folks: The Rascals were neither fashion plates, nor did they
speak the King's English. Sure, Eddie Murphy turned Buckwheat into a
caricature ("Unce, tice, fee times a mady... .") But in essence, Buckwheat
was part of a team, and he was never cast in a bad light. He never was
shown committing crimes or being subservient to the other Rascals. He was
their equal, and it's no surprise. Children aren't born bigots.

One day, I was flicking the remote, and came across a scene I've seen
far too often in talk-show formats: Ku Klux Klansmen and black leaders on a
panel. The twist was that the Klansmen brought their little kids along. The
even bigger twist was that one of the little kids, a toddler, kept smiling
and waving at a black man in the audience. To the child, he was just
another person.

It was even more ironic when the black man stood up and pointed this
out. While the Klan mother was denying this, the kid, sitting on her lap,
kept smiling and waving at the black man, who waved and smiled back. I
never thought a talk show could have that kind of poignancy.

As an Italian-American, I can relate to this Buckwheat thing somewhat.
Ever notice how often the Mafia is associated with Italians in the
media?

Take Frank Sinatra. He's been often associated with organized crime,
especially in the `60s during the Rat Pack's heyday. Fortunately, the media
have been treating these "links" in a rather humorous manner.

It's not that I and other Italians object to films about the Mafia.
It's that often, the implicit message is that ALL Italians are associated
with the Mafia at some level, and THAT'S not true.

If I had a son, I would not object to him going to an Italian event as
Al Capone, though. The Mafia is part of my heritage, like it or not, and I
will not ignore it.